'The Kashmir Files' rocks BO, while makers had to overcome many challenges in filming it

Writing anti-India slogans on the walls to recreate the Kashmir sentiment during the 1990s militancy in the valley, triggered agitation among the people in Mussoorie on the sets.

Mussoorie: The film 'The Kashmir Files', made on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits has created a buzz in the country even as it has turned out to be a commercial hit. The film, which was released in select theaters across the country on March 11, earned Rs 3.55 crores on the first day jumping to Rs 8.50 crores on the second day according to film trade analyst Taran Adarsh.

But it was not a cakewalk for the filmmakers all the way through as the particular scene in the movie where the militants vandalize the tricolor created a ruckus on the sets and posed a big challenge for the filmmakers. In an exclusive conversation with ETV Bharat, Parv Bali, the line producer of 'The Kashmir Files', said that filming the movie was a big challenge for him with many scenes creating a ruckus on the sets. “When the scene of the overthrowing of the tricolor by terrorists was filmed in the Mussoorie's Laltibba area, the local people protested against it. Because no Indian can tolerate a scene like this,” Bali said.

Although the filmmakers tried a lot to convince the people of Mussoorie, no one was ready to accept it. At that time, people did not understand what was happening. Likewise, writing anti-India slogans on the walls to recreate the Kashmir sentiment during the 1990s militancy in the valley, also triggered agitation among the people in Mussoorie on the sets.

But the filmmakers have managed to bring out the pathos in the process with viewers receiving the film quite well. The film has been made tax-free in many states, including Uttarakhand to the makers' utter delight. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also praised the filmmakers for recreating the exodus.

The shooting of 'The Kashmir Files', which was initially scheduled in Himachal, has been mostly done in Uttarakhand. Most of the film has been shot in Dehradun and Mussoorie. The line production work for the Bollywood film 'The Kashmir Files' has been done by Dehradun-based line production company The Buzz Makers.
Gaurav Gautam, the line producer of 'The Kashmir Files' told ETV Bharat that the shooting of Kashmir Files started three years ago. In the initial phase, this film was planned to be shot in a hilly area of ​​Himachal. But The Buzz Makers Line Production Company asked the director Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri to shoot this film in Uttarakhand.

Line Production Company told Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri that Uttarakhand also has very good locations, which should be considered after which Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri selected many areas including Mussoorie of Uttarakhand for this film. The filmmakers have worked to make the locations in Mussoorie look like Kashmir. Mussoorie's library area has been shown as Lal Chowk of Srinagar.

The famous scene in 'The Kashmir Files' is Lal Chowk, where the main character of the film Anupam Kher is present in the guise of Shivji. This scene has been shot at Library Chowk in Mussoorie. It is very difficult to identify at a glance whether it is Library Chowk in Mussoorie or Lal Chowk in Srinagar.

The Buzz Makers said that the local administration of Uttarakhand headed by the then Chief Minister Trivendra Rawat supported them during the shooting. The production company said that the people of Uttarakhand got a chance in this film in the form of many junior artists and other characters. Along with the beautiful locales, Uttarakhand has also been praised a lot for the film-friendly environment in the state.